Julia Mancuso comes through again in a big event for fourth Olympic medal

Posted By John Meyer On February 10, 2014 @ 8:40 am In 2014 Sochi Olympics,Olympics,Skiing | No Comments

KRASNAYA POLYANA[1], Russia — Julia Mancuso[2] first demonstrated her uncanny knack for coming through in big events at the 2005 world championships, when she and teammate Lindsey Vonn were just 20 years old.

Vonn already had a World Cup win and seven podiums. Mancuso, a rival since they were kids coming up through the junior ranks, had none. But at those championships in Bormio, Italy, Mancuso claimed bronze medals in giant slalom and super-G. Vonn had to settle for two fourth-place finishes.

A year later in the Turin Olympics[3], Mancuso won a gold medal in giant slalom and Vonn went home empty handed. Since then Mancuso has claimed three more world championships medals, and on Monday she won her fourth Olympic medal, a bronze in super combined[4]. No other American woman has won more than two.

Bronze medalist Julia Mancuso of the United States celebrates during the medal ceremony for the Alpine Skiing Women’s Super Combined on day 3 of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Medals Plaza in the Olympic Park on Feb. 10, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (Matthew Stockman, Getty Images)

Vonn has dominated the World Cup, winning four overall titles, and her 59 victories are only three short of the all-time women’s record. Mancuso only has seven World Cup wins, but she is proud of her records. She is now the third American to win medals at three Winter Olympics, along with speed skater Bonnie Blair and short track skater Apolo Ohno.

Tellingly, Mancuso brought up the comparison with Vonn in the euphoria that followed Monday’s race without being prompted.

“Skiing and growing up with someone like Lindsey, who’s just amazing on the World Cup, breaking records left and right, to have something that I can break records in at the same time, is also fun and exciting for me,” Mancuso said. “It’s a totally different thing, but it’s just great accomplishments that I’m really proud of. I feel like, in our own ways, we have such strengths, and it’s cool to be a part of that.”

What makes her so good at big events?

“She really sucks up the energy, going into those Games,” said Alex Hoedlmoser, head women’s coach for the U.S. Ski Team. “She gets super excited, and it fills her up with energy. She goes to the opening ceremony and talks to the other girls, like, ‘You guys gotta go, because this is the greatest thing, it’s going to amp you up.’ She’s just a true champion who knows how to perform in big events.”

Mancuso’s best finish this season on the World Cup was seventh, but she had the fastest downhill leg Monday in the combined with a beautiful, fluid run. Then, despite not having raced slalom in a year, she managed to ski the slalom leg well enough to stay in the medals, finishing behind three-time Olympic champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany and Nicole Hosp of Austria.

“I was just thinking, ‘Stay calm and ski with my heart,’ and I skied my heart out,” Mancuso said. “That was really tough. It was a really, really difficult slalom run. I knew I just had to give my best shot, and it sure didn’t feel good. I definitely had moments in my mind where I was thinking, ‘This is not going to be good enough, but keep fighting.’ I knew where to let it run on that last pitch and –- Surprise! — looked up and got a medal.”

Mancuso struggled in World Cup races at Beaver Creek in November and had trouble finding confidence as the season unfolded, but she started to see glimmers of progress in recent weeks.

“It’s been a really tough season for me, and I’ve always had that real belief that I can do it,” Mancuso said. “Putting out these dreams and beliefs that I can come in here and have a medal, and everyone being a little skeptical, and just knowing in my heart that I can do it, was kind of like crossing the finish line and saying, ‘See? It works. Believing in yourself really works. I got a medal today.’”